15-Ton "Fatberg" Found in London Sewer

Made of fat and wet wipes

London sewer workers were forced to confront the sum of all our sins this week when a 15-ton “fatberg,” a bus-sized mass made of fat and wet wipes, was discovered blocking sewage flow in the southwest part of the city. Workers found the mass after residents in the area complained that they were no longer able to flush their toilets.

According to local utility company Thames Water, the fatberg grew so large that it actually damaged sewer lines, which may take weeks to repair. They also advised residents not to pour fat from cooking oils down the drain or to flush their sanitary napkins. “We've never seen a single, congealed lump of lard this big clogging our sewers before,” said Thames Water’s waste contracts supervisor Gordon Hailwood. “Given we've got the biggest sewers and this is the biggest fatberg we've encountered, we reckon it has to be the biggest such 'berg' in British history.”

Workers dislodged and disposed of the mass using high-pressure water jets. The process took 10 days and the sanity of a dozen men. There is still no word on whether the mass had achieved consciousness at the time of its removal.

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Photo: Werner Vermaak/Flickr

Sailor Saves Dog, Then Wife

When yacht runs aground

Graham and Sheryl Anley were in the middle of a three-month tour of South Africa's Eastern Cape when they ran aground near the city of East London. Before saving his wife, whose safety line had become caught on the boat, Graham Anley swam the couple's 9-year-old dog, Rosie, who was wearing a custom dog life jacket, to shore. The trio were later rescued by a helicopter from the National Sea Rescue Institute.

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A bike commuter riding through the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon. Portland is one of the most bike friendly cities in the United States leading to many people, like this man, using it as their main method of transportation. Photo: Jordan Siemens

STUDY: Walking to Work Will Save Your Life

Protects against diabetes and heart disease

Walking to work may be the next super-drug. Compared to people who drive to the office, walkers and cyclists have a 40 percent lower chance of developing diabetes, according to a study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

After surveying 20,000 people in the UK about their commuting habits and health, the researchers also uncovered that people walk to work are 17 percent less likely than people who drive to have high blood pressure, a risk factor for heart disease. And while 19 percent of people who drive to work in the UK are obese, the numbers dropped to 13 percent among those who biked in.

"This study highlights that building physical activity into the daily routine by walking, cycling or using public transport to get to work is good for personal health," Anthony Laverty, from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, told Science Daily.

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Photo: Screenshot

Escape Artist to Skydive in a Coffin

Will be dropped from plane at 14,500 feet

Breaking out of locked boxes is everyday fare for escape artists. Doing it as that box plummets to earth from a plane, less so.

That's exactly what a Wisconsin escape artist plans to do today. Anthony Martin will be handcuffed and locked inside of a plywood box, then dropped from a Short SC.7 Skyvan at 14,500 feet over Serena, Illinois, where he will have to make his way out in time to pull his chute.

Martin, 47, pulled off the same stunt 25 years ago, escaping from a coffin above Sandwich, Illinois. Among his other dangerous stunts include an escape from locked cage below the ice of a frozen quarry in 1990.